Nightshade
by holli.carson95
Summary: A mysterious meeting with Damian Wayne turns the lives of two AU characters upside down. Contains strong language, rated T to be safe. *Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the DC Comics characters!*
1. Upside Down

At sunrise, Serana McTeague rose from her bed and thundered downstairs to the kitchen. Serana was exhausted as her brother's obnoxious snoring and thoughts about her boyfriend Ben Richards had kept her awake most of the night. The day's mail was already on the dining room table, and Serana was the first to get it.

"What the-?" she cursed, scanning an envelope addressed to her.

Instead of calling the mysterious mail to attention, Serana ripped open the envelope, using her long fingers to pull apart the wrappings. There wasn't a return address in the upper left corner, but that soon became the least of her concerns.

"EVAN!" Serana shrieked, dropping the envelope from her large hands.

"What is it?" Evan asked as he skidded to a stop on the wood floors, hoping that he wouldn't crash into his sister.

"They. . . they have him!" Serana gasped, handing the contents of the envelope to her brother.

_"'Serana McTeague,'"_ Evan read aloud, _"'you have until the fifteenth to collect five thousand dollars. Failure to do so will result in the death of your beloved Benjamin Richards. Sincerely, D. B.'"_

"That son of a bitch!" Serana growled, her ears rising on the side of her head.

"You think it's him?" Evan inquired, putting his arm around his baby sister.

"They did sign the letter 'D. B.' I'm pretty sure it's him!"

"Rana, take it easy," Evan muttered, calling his sister by her nickname.

"THE SON OF A BITCH HAS BENJAMIN! HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO TAKE IT EASY?!" Serana shrieked, advancing on her brother.

Evan had no reason to argue as his sister had a point. She'd fallen for Benjamin when she'd first set eyes on him. She talked about him often, going on about his crystal blue eyes, dark hair, and his profession as a rock star. Evan had no doubt that Serana would do anything to protect the people she loved, just as he had done when she was attacked. Evan still said nothing, even as Serana grabbed her cell phone and dialed the one number that she hadn't used in seven years. Nobody answered the phone, and that just made her more frustrated. _He gave me this number in case I needed help, and he doesn't even answer!_ Serana thought angrily as she slammed her phone shut. Evan had silently taken her side, his jaw rammed shut and his lungs expanding furiously. The sound of a sudden movement up above sent the two of them into overdrive, and they grabbed two large hunting knives from the back wall, holding them in a loose yet firm hold.

"Now now now, you two, don't jump the gun," a husky voice whispered from the ceiling.

"What the-?!" Serana and Evan cursed in unison, putting their backs together.

"Just relax, Serana. I'm not here to hurt you," the voice replied, masked well within the darkness.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Evan demanded, turning quickly and stepping in front of Serana.

"A friend of the person you were attempting to contact. I bring bad news," the voice replied, now sounding more normal and revealing that it was a male.

"Come out of the shadows!" Serana commanded, her Scottish accent thick with anger. "Tell me your name!"

"My name is Damian Wayne. Your mentor is my grandfather. Correction, was my grandfather," the boy said softly, stepping out of the shadows.

"Why are you here?"

"I have come to give you the news that he is dead, but another has taken his place and they will train you once again in the ways of the shadows. You must go to Starling City to do this."

"And how will they help me with my current problem?"

Damian didn't reply, he only leaped into the shadows once more and disappeared.

"Well, this just keeps getting better," Serana grumbled, leaning against the wall.

"No kidding!" Evan agreed.

"How did that Damian kid know where to find me anyway?"

"No idea, but you should go to Starling City and meet your new 'mentor.'"

"What about Ben?!"

"This could be your chance to get back to your old ways and save him."

"I don't like where this is going. . . ."

"Never said you had to."

Frustrated with her brother's thinking, Serana turned away, her heart attempting to escape from the prison of her rib cage. All of a sudden, the memories began to flood her mind once more. The smell of her attackers' aftershave mixed with overused cologne, their thick British accents, the swastika on one of their chests. . . . The memories made her amber eyes light with fear, but it soon faded to rage, the very same rage that held them several years ago. She knew what she had to do, and she sensed that her brother knew as well. Without as much as a glance, Serana grabbed her car keys, pulled on her boots, and headed out the front door with Evan on her heels.

"How far is Brooklyn from Starling City?" Serana asked before she got into her car.

"Six to eight hours, time wise," Evan replied, not even looking at his sister.

"Are you coming?"

"I can't. . . . It doesn't feel right to go after him again."

Frowning at the fact that her brother wasn't going to join her, Serana turned on the car; moments later its powerful stereo kicked into life. As she was dating a rock star, it was only natural that Serana listened to hard metal; she was going to need it to stay awake for eight solid hours.


	2. Friends or Enemies?

Eight hours later Serana arrived in Starling City with her crimson Dodge Challenger. The radio had been playing a mixed CD made up of Serana's favorite artists, but it had become background noise after twenty minutes on the road. Serana had no conscious idea where she was going, but her heart seemed to guide her there. Out of nowhere a hooded figure leaped in front of the car, forcing her to slam the brakes and lean back in her seat.

"The hell?" Serana wondered aloud, scanning the windshield for the hooded stranger.

A vibrating noise suddenly filled the cab of the Challenger, catching the girl off guard. Before long, she'd reached into the glove compartment and pulled out her convulsing cell phone.

"Hello?" Serana answered loudly.

_"Follow this road for another mile, then turn left,"_ a robotic voice answered before hanging up.

Without a word Serana followed the voice's instructions; when she turned she came upon a large warehouse. Looks abandoned enough for this new "mentor," Serana thought to herself as she turned off the car and got out. For some reason her mind was going out of control, but she thought it was only the unfamiliar environment around her that caused this.

"LOOK OUT!" Damian Wayne cried, leaping towards Serana as an arrow whizzed past his head.

Before Damian could reach her, Serana collapsed onto the asphalt beneath her. _Just phenomenal,_ Serana thought to herself. _Barely in Starling City for ten minutes and I'm already under fire!_

"STOP!" a female voice commanded from afar.

The arrows stopped firing, and Serana looked up, scanning the dim outlines with her amber eyes. Little did she know that somebody had leaped onto the ground six feet to her left, and they were not in the mood for whatever was involved.

"Talia! What have I told you about bringing strangers onto the grounds?!" a husky voice demanded, stepping carefully towards Serana with a bow and arrow trained on her head.

"Relax, my friend- this is the girl I told you about," Talia replied. "Serana McTeague."

"Who the hell are you two?!" Serana demanded angrily as she sprung to her feet.

"That is not important right now. You need to get inside now." Talia replied, motioning to the warehouse.

Frustrated beyond all belief, Serana turned on her heels and trudged slowly into the warehouse; moments later Damian, the woman named Talia, and the archer followed her.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Serana cursed, turning to face the mysterious archer. "I was told to come here and you start shooting arrows at me! I could've killed you!"

"How was I supposed to know who you were?!" he replied, stepping around Serana to put away his bow and arrows.

"Maybe because Damian told you who she was!" Talia replied angrily, sneaking up behind the archer and pulling off his hood.

"Are you kidding me?!" Serana shrieked, not believing the sight before her amber eyes.

"That's enough. You have some training to do," Talia whispered, stepping in front of Serana.

Letting out a sigh of frustration, Serana followed Talia further into the warehouse; moments later they reached a type of training course. Several logs had been raised to the ceiling and placed around scaffolding, a large circle enclosed several targets as well as a fighting ground, and an obstacle course took up the rear. Out of nowhere the memories of the training flooded Serana. Worse yet, she was going to be training with somebody that she looked up to.


	3. Deja Vu

Minutes later Serana found herself dressed in her old armor, clutching her knife and standing in the ring facing Talia, who was clutching her own sword. Her back was throbbing with pain thanks to Talia hitting her repeatedly whilst balancing atop the logs with a kendo stick that she'd brought with her. Serana hid this well, hoping that it would help her beat Talia. Talia had unsheathed her sword and taken a defensive stance; Serana copied her movement and held her knife in a loose yet firm hold.

"Do I detect overconfidence?" Talia sneered, swinging her sword at Serana.

"Not at all," Serana replied, dodging the large blade that had become a part of Talia.

Talia dodged the dark blade that Serana swung with precision and began laughing. Naturally the daughter of Ra's al-Ghul assumed that she had the upper hand, but she had forgotten Serana's will to fight to the end. Soon enough, Talia's skill had gotten the better of Serana, and the mistress of the shadows had knocked Serana to the ground with a vicious sweep. Before she could go for the "killing blow," Serana sprung into action. As the long blade went up, Serana's legs had hooked around Talia's ankles and pulled sideways; moments later Serana was on her feet and Talia on her side.

"Yield!" Serana commanded, pointing her knife toward Talia's throat.

Talia had no choice but to do as Serana said- she was beaten, bested by her father's mentee. Unbeknownst to the two of them, Ra's' other mentee leaped through the window, sending Serana into overdrive.

"GET DOWN!" Serana yelled, clutching Talia's arms and pulling her to the concrete.

"Take it easy, ladies. I came to help," a male voice replied overhead.

"Shadowstep, is that you?" Serana called out, getting to her feet and cranking her head up to the ceiling.

"Yes," Shadowstep replied, "and I brought company."

"Get down here!"

Shadowstep did as he was told, but like he said, he was indeed not alone. He thundered to the ground, clad in his "armor." With him was their fellow vigilante Nightwing, a.k.a. Dick Grayson. Deep down inside she knew the true reason that Shadowstep had shown up, but she didn't dare reveal it to the others.

"We've found Ben," Nightwing muttered. "He's being held captive in the underground of the city."

"Get a look at his kidnappers?" Serana asked, sheathing her large knife.

"Sure did. White male, about your height. Gray eyes, blond hair, and some kind of symbol tattooed on his chest. I think it was that Nazi symbol," Shadowstep replied, casting a sideways glance at Serana.

"I knew it was him!"

"Whom?" Nightwing asked curiously.

"Declan Blackwell! Son of a bitch slashed me with a knife and ran when somebody showed up. Had to have sixteen stitches just to close it up!" Serana muttered, pointing to the very old scar on her left cheek bone.

"So he's in the underground area right now?" Talia jumped in, sitting up straight.

"Yeah, but he's not alone. Has some old nemesis of my mentor's with him," Nightwing replied as the chill of fear took over his body.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Serana declared, grabbing her age-old mask and pulling it over her face.

Several groans and mumbled words rose from the mouths of Talia and the others. They clearly thought that Serana was out of her mind, but they had no time to argue. Not with Ben's life in her hands.


	4. Flight

Crouched outside of an underground stronghold, Serana waited with Shadowstep and Damian whilst Talia, Oliver Queen (a. k. a. Green Arrow), and Nightwing gathered info from above. So far they knew that Declan had been pacing back and forth in front of Ben, cursing every now and then about the ransom money. But what caught them off guard was a low growl, one that forced shivers to run down their spines.

* * *

"Everything alright up there?" Shadowstep radioed in, his voice low and angry.

"Not looking so hot. Got some big. . .thing running around in there. Not sure if it's a science experiment gone wrong or what," Green Arrow replied, his voice low and husk.

"What the-?!" Damian cursed, his green eyes growing wide in the darkness.

"What is it?" Serana and Shadowstep cried out in unison.

"I know what's growling in there. Correction, I know who is growling in there. It's Solomon Grundy," Damian whispered, his voice growing more and more solemn.

"You're kidding, right?" Serana demanded. _"SOLOMON GRUNDY_ is in there?!"

_CRASH!_

The sound of a window breaking sent the three of them into overdrive, and Serana, fueled by rage, charged the empty warehouse. Shadowstep had run, hoping to distract what or whomever had charged through the window. The only thing on Serana Rose McTeague's troubled mind was getting Ben away from Declan and Solomon Grundy. Before she could go any further, Serana froze, her amber eyes focused on the monster in front of her. She had no clue whether or not it was a man or a woman, but she knew that she had to get Ben out of there right away.

"Figured as much," a British voice called out over the growls of Solomon Grundy.

Serana wheeled around and came face-to-face with her enemy Declan Blackwell. She didn't have the money that he wanted in turn for Ben's safety, and that made her mind lock up entirely. The memories of her attack plagued her once more, and as Declan got closer, her mission became clearer.

She would have to kill Declan to save Ben and pray that he didn't find out that it was her underneath the mask.

"Help me!" Ben cried out from his bindings to Serana's far right.

"You will pay for this!" Serana snarled, locking her jaw underneath her mask.

"Pity you don't know when to bring the right weapons," Declan replied smugly, his gray eyes shining under the pale fluorescents above them as he pulled out a .45 caliber pistol.

Reacting quickly, Serana dove and put as much distance between herself and Declan's pistol. The ground began to quake, forcing Serana to realize that Solomon Grundy was onto her. Crying out in fury, Serana threw one of her knives through the window as a sign of distress and prayed that Shadowstep would come to help her. He had miraculously heard her cries from wherever and was there in the blink of an eye, brandishing his knives. He'd obviously lost his mind and tried to take on Solomon Grundy alone. Moments later he was punched by the zombified beast and flew across the room, landing with a sickening crunch next to Serana. Suddenly the girl was forced between saving Ben and Shadowstep. She knew what she had to do, and it killed her inside. Lifting Shadowstep over her shoulders, Serana bolted out of the warehouse, her heart tearing open with the thought of leaving Ben behind.


	5. Branded

"What happened?" Shadowstep muttered as he slowly returned to consciousness.

"Solomon Grundy hit you. I need to go and save Ben. If I don't make it out of there, tell the others and kill Declan Blackwell with your own hands." Serana panted, setting her ally down behind some blown-up cement.

"I have faith in you."

With Shadowstep's voice floating in the air, Serana turned back and dashed to the warehouse. She'd pulled on her old cowl, and it was the very thing that made people fear everything in the world. It turned her back into Shadow Dancer, one of the most feared female assassins in the world. Her heart heavy with rage, Shadow Dancer faced Declan Blackwell once more, her knives held tight in her large hands and itching for the rush of the kill.

"BLACKWELL!" Shadow Dancer yelled into the darkness.

"Holy shit!" Ben cursed, his light blue eyes focused on the infamous mask.

"Over HERE!" Declan sneered, charging Shadow Dancer in a furious rage.

Her eyes burning, Shadow Dancer rushed Declan with her knives prepared to wrench out the life within. She'd spent hours sharpening them at home, waiting for him to show up again just to end up dead. Soon enough her problems doubled as Solomon Grundy rushed her, his monstrous footsteps shaking the earth beneath them. She only stood there, facing Declan with fury in her eyes and her heart in her ears. Solomon Grundy was now a few feet away, and before he could give her the same punch that knocked out Shadowstep she'd leaped high into the air and landed on the beast's shoulders. She was hoping that she could control him long enough to knock Declan into the wall before taking care of the rest, but Grundy tried to shake her off, leaving her frustrated. Her teeth bared, Shadow Dancer drove one of her knives into Grundy's brain, causing him to rumble to the ground inches from Declan. Before he could blink, she'd landed on him and took him to the ground, but he recovered and pulled out his .45 and trained it on her head. She scissored her ankles around his legs and pulled with every fiber of her being, and he fell hard onto the ground. She was on her feet and rushed toward Ben, but as she attempted to free him from his bindings Declan fired his gun. A .45 caliber bullet forced its way into her chest, knocking her down and leaving Ben with the thought of her death branded in his mind.


	6. Hysteria

Unbeknownst to Ben and Declan, Serana was still alive.

Taken by rage, Serana rose from her "grave" and rushed Declan from behind. He'd turned to face her and wound up with a blade in his gut and his eyes locked on hers. In a flash he'd fallen and died on the spot, leaving Ben in shock and Serana weak.

"You're safe now, Ben," Serana murmured, limping over to him with a hand on her chest. "He can't do anything more."

"I know who you are," Ben whispered, his light blue eyes lit with concern. "I've known all along that it was you, Rana."

"I don't understand. How did you-?"

"The way you fought in that bar a few weeks back was a dead giveaway."

"I guess I shouldn't hide it any longer."

"You shouldn't have to hide it from me. I don't think any different of you even though you killed somebody in front of me."

"I'm done hiding it, too!" Shadowstep called out, limping towards Serana and Ben and pulled off his mask.

"Evan?" Ben replied, his jaw dropping in shock.

"Yeah. I hope you can trust me now that you know the truth."

"I trust both of you. Come on, let's get out of here."

With his last words hanging in the air, Ben limped out of the warehouse with Serana and Evan, promising himself that he would forget what he'd seen. Serana, on the other hand, hoped that Ben could trust her despite her profession and that she'd never have to kill in front of him again.


End file.
